Pages

Thursday, 13 September 2012

A strong partner in military aircraft construction

Premium AEROTEC has so far delivered more than 420 centre fuselage sections for the Eurofighter Typhoon, underscoring its significant role in military aircraft construction. Besides an internationally acknowledged role as a strong partner in the civil aviation sector, Premium AEROTEC’s participation in the Eurofighter and the A400M transport aircraft is of great importance to the company in both economic and technological terms.

“Our long-standing, successful participation in the Eurofighter programme has not only enabled us to demonstrate our competence in this area, but has also laid the foundation for our important role in the development and manufacture of the A400M military transport aircraft,” stated Premium AEROTEC’s CEO Kai Horten. “The technological experience that we gain from our commercial and military aircraft programmes helps us to consolidate our position with regard to the global competition.”

The fuselage centre section manufactured by Premium AEROTEC is the structural ‘core’ of Eurofighter, the European multi-role combat aircraft. Roughly six metres long, it essentially comprises an integral structure of aluminium planked with a single, monolithic outer shell made of carbon fibre composite (CFC) material. Thanks to this construction, the component is not only lightweight but also capable of bearing heavy loads. Great demands are placed on the skills of Premium AEROTEC’s engineers and mechanics to produce a section that, in flight, absorbs all forces acting on the wings, the air brake and – during landing – the main landing gear that is attached to it.

Premium AEROTEC is the only manufacturer of this technologically challenging fuselage component. The components produced at various company sites are integrated in Augsburg to form the fuselage centre section, which is then delivered to Cassidian in Manching. From there, parts are supplied to the final assembly lines in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.